David de Keyser obit

David de Keyser has died

 

 He was not on the list.

Born in London in August 1927, in the mid-sixties de Keyser worked twice with the writer, actor and director Jane Arden. Their first collaboration, The Logic Game (January 1965), was directed by Philip Saville. They acted together again in another Jane Arden script in the film Separation (Jack Bond 1968) which was set in London and featured music by Procol Harum, Matthew Fisher and Stanley Myers. The themes of both pieces were marital strife and disintegrating relationships.

De Keyser also worked on four occasions for the British director John Boorman, twice on screen in Catch Us If You Can (1965) and Leo the Last (1970), and on two further occasions Boorman has used de Keyser's rich voice, firstly as the Voice of the Tabernacle in Zardoz (1974), and as the Voice of the Grail in Excalibur (1981). Other unseen roles were the voice of Count Mitterhaus' curse in Vampire Circus (uncredited) and the dubbing of Dracula in The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires.

He starred in the BBC Radio 4 comedy The Attractive Young Rabbi with Tracy-Ann Oberman. He also made an appearance in the British TV series The Professionals, in the episode entitled "Servant of Two Masters". Other television appearances included the Thriller episode "Someone at the Top of the Stairs", in which he played the eponymous Cartney, Yes Prime Minister in the episode "A Victory for Democracy" where he played the Israeli Ambassador and the Robin of Sherwood episode "The Children of Israel" as Joshua de Talmont. He starred in UK Television series Dick Turpin starring Richard O'Sullivan in part two of an episode entitled "Sentence of Death" where he played the character The Duke of Hesse.

De Keyser was the narrator for Pathe Pictorial in the 1960s, and has also done voiceover work on television advertisements in the United Kingdom, as well as served as the announcer on the first series of comedy panel game Would I Lie to You?, before being replaced for the second series. His voice can also be heard on the trailer (included in DVD releases) for The Dark Crystal. He was married to anti-apartheid activist Ethel de Keyser from 1949 to 1959. He is the father of Alexei de Keyser (1967–2004).

 

He died in February 2021 at the age of 93.

Partial filmography

 

    1957: The Secret Place – Ticket Clerk (uncredited)

    1964: Castle of the Living Dead – Eric (voice, uncredited)

    1965: The Logic Game (TV) – The Man

    1965: Catch Us If You Can – Zissell

    1966: Our Man in Marrakesh – Hotel Clerk and Motorcycle Policeman (uncredited)

    1967: King Kong Escapes – Commander Carl Nelson (English version, voice)

    1968: Separation – Husband

    1968: The Vengeance of She – Killikrates (voice, uncredited)

    1969: The Blood of Fu Manchu – of The Governor and others (voice)

    1969: The Castle of Fu Manchu – Omar Pasha and others (voice, uncredited)

    1969: On Her Majesty's Secret Service – Marc Ange Draco (voice, uncredited)

    1970: Leo the Last – David

    1970: You Can't Win 'Em All – Gunner Major (voice, uncredited)

    1971: Irresistible – Swiss Tourist

    1971: The chairman's Wife – Superintendent

    1971: The Horsemen – Mukhi (uncredited)

    1971: Diamonds Are Forever – Doctor

    1972: Vampire Circus – Mitterhaus's Curse (voice, uncredited)

    1973: Bequest to the Nation – French Commander (uncredited)

    1973: A Touch of Class – Doctor Alvarez

    1974: Zardoz – Tarbenacle (voice, uncredited)

    1974: The Legend of the 7 Golden Vampires – Dracula (voice, uncredited)

    1974: Murder on the Orient Express – Turkish Ticket Collector (voice, uncredited)

    1975: Brannigan – of Drexel and Jennifer's Boyfriend (uncredited)

    1975: Paper Tiger – Ambassador Kagoyama (voice)

    1975: The Hiding Plac – Eusie Koonstra

    1975: The Romantic Englishwoman – George

    1976: The Message – Of minor roles (uncredited)

    1976: Voyage of the Damned – Joseph Joseph

    1977: Valentino – Joseph Schenck

    1977: Holocaust 2000 – Dubbing (voice, uncredited)

    1978: Revenge of the Pink Panther – TV Newscaster (voice, uncredited)

    1978: Superman – Warden (voice, uncredited)

    1980: Flash Gordon – Colonel of Battle Control Room (voice, uncredited)

    1981: Balham, Gateway to the South – Narrator (voice)

    1981: Excalibur (voice only)

    1982: A Woman Called Golda – David Ben-Gurion

    1983: The Ploughman's Lunch – Gold

    1983: Yentl – Rabbi Zalman

    1984: Lassiter – Gunz (voice)

    1985: King David – Ahitophel

    1988: Out of the Shadows – James Bluminfeld

    1989: A Dry White Season – Susan's Father

    1989: Confessional (TV) – Professor Cherny

    1989: Red King, White Knight – Director

    1991-92: The House of Eliott – Sir Desmond Gillespie

    1992: Leon the Pig Farmer – Sidney Geller

    1993: Poirot – Gaston Beaujeu (The chocolate box)

    1997: The Designated Mourner – Howard

    1998: Simon Magus – Rabbi

    1999: Sunshine – Emmanuel Sonnenschein

    2000: The Nine Lives of Tomas Katz – Exhumed rabbi

    2002: The Poet – Lomax

    2002: Waking the Dead – Marcus Freeman in Death Watch (2 episodes)

    2003: The Statement – Dom André

    2008: God on Trial – Hugo

    2008: Good – Mandelstam

    2010: Doctor Who (Voice only) – Atraxi

    2010: Gin & Dry (Short Film) – Albie

    2014: Closer to the Moon – Moritz